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Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Death is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues that teachers encounter, linked inextricably as it is to identity. I think it sometimes escapes our attention that, as teachers of history, we constantly deal...
Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history
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Assessment and Progression without levels
Primary History article
The new (2014) Primary History National Curriculum is finally upon us. The first thing you might notice is that the level descriptions have gone. These were first introduced in 1995 and became the mainstay for assessing pupil progression and attainment in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 across schools in...
Assessment and Progression without levels
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Cross Curricular Project on a famous person
Primary History case study
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
If you are considering studying someone other than Florence Nightingale you have two basic options. You can either choose a local character who would be more relevant to the children, or you could study someone who...
Cross Curricular Project on a famous person
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Mesopotamia: Making a picture of Mesopotamia in our heads
Article
Working in a small rural primary school in North Gloucestershire I was inspired by national news reports from Iraq to change the focus of our Ancient History study from Ancient Egypt to Mesopotamia, ‘the land between the rivers'. A study of this region of the Middle East fulfilled so many...
Mesopotamia: Making a picture of Mesopotamia in our heads
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The Great Fire of London and the National Curriculum
Primary History article including Scheme of Work for Key Stage 1 (unresourced)
The Great Fire of London is a favourite National Curriculum teaching topic. This paper draws on the latest resources and teaching ideas to suggest how you can meet both the NC history requirements and the wider ones of the National Curriculum, particularly in integrated programmes that include teaching about the Great...
The Great Fire of London and the National Curriculum
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‘Not again!’ - an additional viewpoint on using railways
Primary History article
‘Not again!’ I can remember my son muttering as his football thudded against the kitchen wall, ‘I went there in Year 2 and then in Year 4 and now I have to go there again in Year 6.’ He was referring to his school trips to the remains of the gunpowder factories in our village,...
‘Not again!’ - an additional viewpoint on using railways
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Political literacy: citizenship through the English national curriculum's the Romans in Britain study unit
Primary History article
Hilary Claire raised fundamental issues about the relationship between History and Citizenship for the development of a sense of identity. Her paper stresses the importance of sceptical thinking, perspective, sequence and progression - the essential chronology that underpins pupil's education for citizenship in the timeframe that history provides...
Political literacy: citizenship through the English national curriculum's the Romans in Britain study unit
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What was Witchcraft in the Early Sixteenth Century?
Article
In this article, Dr Jonathan Durrant (Principal Lecturer in History, University of South Wales) argues that we know no more now than we did in the late 1980s about what witchcraft was as men and women of the early sixteenth century understood it. Dr Durrant looks at evidence from Henry VIII's Witchcraft Act of 1542 to explore British and European perceptions of witches...
What was Witchcraft in the Early Sixteenth Century?
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Here come the Vikings! Making a saga out of a crisis
Primary History Article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
What are your first impressions when you think of Alfred the Great? Perhaps it's the story of the heroic individual being humbled by burning the cakes or for those of a certain age, it may...
Here come the Vikings! Making a saga out of a crisis
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Towards inclusion: A study of significant figures and disability within the national curriculum
Primary History article
Since the early days of the National Curriculum, considerable progress has been made to introduce children to an inclusive view of history. The research of the late Hilary Claire (1996) served as a major impetus and now primary teachers strive to ensure that no groups or individuals are marginalised, particularly...
Towards inclusion: A study of significant figures and disability within the national curriculum
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Bringing an archaeologist into the classroom
Primary History article
The past as represented in school history textbooks and websites is adapted to meet the needs of primary-aged children, but the knowledge on which this depends derives from detailed academic research. Engaging children with historians and archaeologists can show them how we learn about and construct our understanding of history...
Bringing an archaeologist into the classroom
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KS2 Egyptian Story & Lesson Resource
Book & Lesson Resource Review
Ma'at's Feather: A story set in Ancient Egypt by Juliet Desailly, The Book Guild, p/b £6.99 Pub 2008, ISBN: 978 1 84624 273 1 and accompanying lesson resource Ma'at's Feather: Cross-Curricular Lesson Ideas by Juliet Desailly Pub 2008, ISBN: 978 0 955668 0 4
Reviewed by Alf Wilkinson
Ma'at's Feather...
KS2 Egyptian Story & Lesson Resource
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M&S brings over 130 years of archives into your classroom
Article
There is something really magical about making your own discoveries. Investigating something sparked by your own curiosity and using your own skills of observation and deduction to find out more is exciting. Human beings have always wanted to find out about our history and our place in the world –...
M&S brings over 130 years of archives into your classroom
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Is There a Place for The Holocaust in the Primary Curriculum?
Article
The Holocaust – the murder of approximately six million Jewish men, women and children by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War – is possibly the most difficult event that any history teacher will ever have to teach. Most obviously, it can be deeply upsetting, for educators...
Is There a Place for The Holocaust in the Primary Curriculum?
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Northamptonshire in a Global Context
Key Stages 2 and 3
Produced by the Northamptonshire Black History Association and originally published in 2008, this is one of a set of resources for schools offering a more inclusive map of the past that includes an appreciation of Black History within the local, national and global context. The resources provide a range of opportunities to promote diversity within the curriculum....
Northamptonshire in a Global Context
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Introducing history at Key Stage 1: a view from the classroom
Article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
‘What are we doing this for?’ I was asked this question as we entered the churchyard to look at the local War memorial. The curiosity and directness of a six year old child is guaranteed...
Introducing history at Key Stage 1: a view from the classroom
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Using indigenous and traditional stories to teach for climate and ecological action
Primary History article
Caitríona Ní Cassaithe and Anne Marie Kavanagh explore how herbs and wild plants were and are used to create natural remedies. They use archive material and oral history to promote and explore indigenous voices. They suggest how this could be applied and developed within your own communities. They also make...
Using indigenous and traditional stories to teach for climate and ecological action
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Arthur Wharton: the world’s first professional black footballer
Primary History article
Schools are now looking to extend their study of significant individuals away from many of the conventional ones. This article looks at a lesser known individual, Arthur Wharton, which could make a good choice for teachers wanting to tap into pupils’ interest. Arthur Wharton was the world’s first black professional...
Arthur Wharton: the world’s first professional black footballer
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A treasure trove of local history - how to use your local record office
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
In her article in Primary History No 21, Jayne Woodhouse highlighted that the study of history needn’t be all about national events. Essentially it is a series of stories, often about ordinary people and their ordinary lives, which can be built up...
A treasure trove of local history - how to use your local record office
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Battersea: here for every dog and cat – 165 years and still going strong
Primary History article
In this article Karin Doull looks at the 165th anniversary of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Our treatment of our most popular pets is reflective of society in a given time and Karin highlights several ways in which the history of Battersea can be used to spotlight different aspects of...
Battersea: here for every dog and cat – 165 years and still going strong
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Teaching Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings in Britain
Reference guide for primary
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. For...
Teaching Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings in Britain
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Chronology: Developing a coherent knowledge
Article
Chronology: Developing a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and of the wider world
First, this article considers the reasons why it is essential for children to develop a chronological framework. Next it considers ways in which this framework is necessary for the development of the time concepts set...
Chronology: Developing a coherent knowledge
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Muslim soldiers in World War I
Primary History article
The objective of this lesson plan was to enable pupils to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the input of Muslim soldiers in World War I and to do so through empathy and creative discussion. I very much enjoyed teaching this session with a group of Year 6s, all...
Muslim soldiers in World War I
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It worked for me: Knights and castles
Primary History case study
For their 2016 summer term topic, Class 2 at Thrumpton Primary Academy learnt about medieval knights and castles. Their teacher was particularly excited when she found out about the choice of topic for the term, as she has a degree in history with a specialism in medieval history!
We started...
It worked for me: Knights and castles
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Long ago or far away: the Global perspective
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Even an inclusive national history curriculum can make Britain (and Europe) appear as the lynchpin of world history. Without a coherent structure for global history, young people remain unaware that continents beyond Europe have histories of...
Long ago or far away: the Global perspective
